Vladyslav Vashchuk has just returned to Kyiv from the east and looks a little tired - he didn't have a chance to sleep. During our conversation, his phone keeps ringing as he receives a work-related call. Once a Russian-speaker, Vladyslav immediately apologizes for his imperfect Ukrainian, but assures us that from now on he will only give interviews in the state language.
We joke that Vladyslav Vashchuk is one of those who "went to bed on February 23 and woke up on February 24." In his case, this was exactly what happened: a well-known Ukrainian football player who lived in Gostomel with his children, spent two weeks under Russian occupation, and miraculously managed to leave and survive. His voluntary desire to join the Ukrainian army had its own motives, although it surprised many people: a former defender of the Ukrainian national team, Kyiv's Dynamo, Moscow's Spartak, Chornomorets, Lviv and Volyn, Honored Master of Sports, Vashchuk became a soldier and medic in the Bureviy medical brigade of the National Guard at the age of 47. His task is to accompany seriously wounded soldiers in an ambulance and stabilize their condition on the way to the hospital.
"The version put forward by one of the Russian shit resources that "the fascination with Nazi ideology led this strange character to the ranks of the armed forces of the Kyiv regime" (c), although shocking in its creativity, boldness of assumptions and conclusions, also deserves attention, of course. So be it, if it makes it easier to perceive this information," Vladyslav jokingly commented on Russian slander about his mobilization on social media. Having seen what the Russians are capable of, Vashchuk is now unequivocal in his assessment: "These are barbarians who want to destroy us. And they have been trying to do this for more than a hundred years - to eliminate us as a nation, our genome. But today we are fighting back."
During his year and a half of service, Vladyslav Vashchuk has evacuated more than 70 wounded from Donetsk and Kharkiv regions. He says he feels confident doing this work.
"Once, my commander called me and said: "Will you give a master class?". I said, "On football?" - "On evacuation! You know everything." I did, and everyone was happy!" says NGU officer Vashchuk.
"To be honest, I try not to remember those days," Vladyslav admits when I ask him to recall the first weeks of the full-scale invasion and the events in the Kyiv region.
The Great War caught the famous footballer at home in Hostomel, where he was staying with his 19-year-old son Vitalii and 13-year-old daughter Vasylyna.
"In the morning of February 24, my friends called me and insisted: take the kids and leave!" I woke up my son and daughter, but when we were leaving the house, at least 20 helicopters were already flying overhead. We could hear explosions - to the left, to the right! So we returned to the house: where to go? We set up a basement and moved there. We had enough food for three days, and then it ran out. The neighbors helped each other: they cooked over a fire because there was no gas. We got to know each other better in those days, and we shared what we had with each other. We met our neighbors on the street every day to talk and exchange information (because the power went out on the third day, there was no internet, the connection was poor, and the source of news was word of mouth), and such meetings became a daily routine."
Vladyslav recalls how his friends were constantly trying to call him in those days, urging him to leave the occupied territory. At first, he completely rejected the idea: he was afraid for his children. One day, Vladyslav decided to try to evacuate (he heard that a "green corridor" had been announced), but it was unsuccessful. He and his children walked three kilometers to the evacuation point, where buses were supposed to arrive.
"About a thousand people had gathered, and everyone was waiting for the Russian military to arrive to clear the bridge of mines. Finally, a tank and an armored car arrived. But before our eyes, a strange thing happened: the Russian tank just drove across the bridge at full speed and exploded. No one realized what was happening! The Russians rushed to gather their "three hundredths", loaded them into a car and drove away. And we were standing there not knowing what to do next! We went home that day."
Meanwhile, food became scarcer, Russians with weapons started walking the streets, and shelling became more frequent. Vladyslav recalls how one day they were bombed for 15 hours straight.
Not all of the neighbors had basements, some houses had already been smashed, and a neighbor across the street sheltered 18 people.
"I was constantly thinking about what to do next," Vashchuk recalls. "For the sake of the children, I tried to joke and support them. I loaded them with some tasks to distract them from panic."
On the 14th day of the siege, Vladyslav decided to break out of Hostomel in his own car after hearing from locals about a possible route.
"We just lined up in a column and drove, at our own risk. We were joined by cars from other streets, with many children, elderly people, and pregnant women. We were moving at a speed of 20 km/h. We saw a lot of shrapnel and human corpses on the road... I asked the children not to look, to close their eyes. There were snipers on the road too. But I decided for myself: even if I puncture the wheels, I will still go forward. We passed four checkpoints and finally reached the Zhytomyr highway, and there - Belogorodka, where my brother had already met us."
During the first days after escaping from the occupation, Vladyslav was recovering: he could finally take a shower and go to bed without clothes on. And then a neighbor got in touch and told him that Russians had entered the Vashchuks' house in Hostomel and drove two armored personnel carriers into the yard.
Later, after the de-occupation of the Kyiv region, Vashchuk would go to Gostomel and see what the occupiers had turned his house into.
"My house was just raped - that was my first impression when I saw it. I had to take some things, but I couldn't find anything. There were a bunch of empty bottles on the table, and the Russians had put a photo of me with my children next to them, as if they were drinking with us. It took me a long time to clean it all up."
The uninvited guests took away Vladyslav's awards and cups, among other things valuable to him. But the main thing is that the house itself survived.
After the experience, Vladyslav's main emotion for a long time was anger.
"I thought: what can I do, how can I help, how can I bring our victory closer? All my friends and my sister were volunteering. So I decided to join the movement.
One day, a friend, a military man, called me and said: we really need a thermal imager. At the same time, I was invited to a charity match in Uzhhorod. There I told them about my friend at the front and his need. And after that match, I was presented with two thermal imagers. It was such an emotional uplift! Since then, it all started: we raised money for another car for the unit, for other thermal imagers..."
Later, Vashchuk was approached by his friend Colonel Vsevolod Steblyuk, commander of the National Guard's medical company, with a request to organize a charity match between the Offensive Guard and football legends.
"That match was great - the guys were so happy! We also bought them uniforms because they had nothing. After the game, the guys went to Bakhmut. Later, Vsevolod asked me: "Don't you want to join us? "What are you talking about?" I said, "Where's the medicine, and where am I?" "We'll teach you. Everything will be fine."
Vladyslav jokes that all he knew about first aid at the time was the experience he gained on the soccer field: "When you complain to the doctor about the pain, and he replies: "It will stop now!". Or something like that: "When I jump, my leg hurts!" - "Well, don't jump!"
Vladyslav thought about his decision to join the Defense Forces one night and made up his mind - he joined the TCC.
His post on social media with a photo from May 19, 2023, where a football player in uniform with a machine gun takes the oath, went viral.
"Yes, it was my personal decision," Vladyslav explained, "Yes, my family and friends are still in shock. And yes, I know that some people will never understand me. But I really believe in our Victory. I have seen the "Russian world" with my own eyes and I will do everything to ensure that no one else in my country sees or feels this. And when the time comes, I will be able to answer exactly what I did during the war. The National Guard of Ukraine. The Bureviy offensive brigade. Soldier Vladyslav Vashchuk. I serve the Ukrainian people!"
During his training, Vladyslav mastered tactical medicine, weapons and shooting.
"I did it all willingly - no one forced me. It was important for me to be useful, not just to watch others work," says Vashchuk.
He describes his service using analogies from football: "For some time, I was surprised by people who knew I was a defender but still asked why I scored so few goals for the national team. Now I'm surprised by those who ask me how many killed orcs I have on my account and what my unit's score is. Apparently, they think that the medical unit is something like stormtroopers, but cooler, because we are also issued two MLRS with jetpacks for each of us."
During the first evacuation, Vashchuk just watched his colleagues' actions, but later he started to join in.
"The first question from the commander was whether I was afraid of blood. I answered honestly that I was not. But I did not know what I would have to face in practice. All evacuations of the wounded take place when the bleeding is stopped and first aid is provided. But it's hard to see guys without limbs, with multiple burns, when a person loses consciousness, can't breathe and turns blue in my arms, and we have to help them, save them - that was difficult."
During the first evacuations, Vladyslav could not let go of his emotions because of the suffering of the wounded soldiers.
"It was hard at first. I even asked: "Commander, how do you manage to be so restrained all the time?". Because I would come home soaking wet, sit for a long time, think about everything, worry.
The thought crept in: "Damn, where have I come to? I've been through twenty evacuations, and I'm still not letting go. And then I remembered what Valeriy Lobanovsky told us when we were preparing for the games, and there were many of them: "If we win, we rejoice in victory for 15 minutes, if we lose, we experience defeat for 15 minutes. Then it's over, another game."
I mean, I did my job, got in the car, and that's it, I'm already switching off. I realized that I had to stick to this strategy, otherwise I would go crazy.
Then I saw similar stories with other people in our team: newcomers come in, two or three evacuations in, and ask: "Vladyslav, can we check on the wounded? I'm worried about him, I can't sleep." I said: "Of course, you can visit him. But what will you do after the thirtieth or fortieth evacuation? Will you visit everyone? We will soon be rescuing you." You have to learn to switch - I went through it myself."
Of course, football also helped. Vladyslav continues to organize charity matches and plays himself, which also helps him switch his brain.
In the service of the evacuation team, there are different cases. The wounded who have just undergone surgery and are unconscious are taken from evacuation trains and frontline hospitals to be transported to specialized facilities in the rear. This requires certain skills in working with bedridden patients: how to properly transfer, turn, support, and lift them. At the same time, it is necessary to keep an eye on the monitor, sensors, and various tubes attached to the wounded. Vladyslav does all of this skillfully.
"They wanted to teach me more, but I said: this is enough - you already want me to operate," the former football player jokes.
But something can always go wrong - this is war.
"My third evacuation was by helicopter, and I didn't understand how it was going to happen," Vladyslav recalls. "I was with a stretcher, and my task was to make sure that all the tubes and sensors were in place. And there was a heavy patient on a ventilator. I was very worried.
Another time, a guy stopped breathing on the road while we were transporting him. We saved him.
When he started breathing again, it was a serious victory."
Vashchuk's team specialized in seriously injured patients, but fortunately, they brought all the patients, and did not lose anyone.
Of course, the National Guard recognize the famous football player. Vladyslav describes several such situations: "Together with the doctor, we put the wounded man on a stretcher, his head is in my hands. And the doctor said: "Oh, I'd like to get your autograph, but the situation is not right!" - "It's not right, for sure," I agree, holding the wounded man with both hands.
There was a time when a guy with multiple burns whom we were transporting recognized me on the train and asked to take a photo with me. It is forbidden there, but they made an exception for him.
There was another wounded man - I helped him move around. We were walking to the car, he leaned on me and said: "Do you know that my call sign is Maradona?". We both laughed.
Or a combat mission in the Kupyansk sector. We treated about 90 fighters in our medical center that evening. Tired and exhausted, they were coming out of the encirclement, and we were waiting for them. One of the guys looked at me and said: "You look familiar..." I joke and say that I am an actor. Then someone adds: "But it's Vashchuk! What are you doing here?" they asked in surprise. "The same as you - I'm helping, bringing the victory closer," I answered them.
A few minutes later, after moving away a bit, the guys were happy to talk to me, asking me questions, mentioning that they were hungry - it was clear that their emotional state had leveled off. The commander told me later: "You are already working as a psychologist."
Vladyslav Vashchuk continues to volunteer in the army, helping his fellow soldiers. And he is getting promoted. In May, he received his first officer's rank: now Vlad is a junior lieutenant of the National Guard, a rehabilitation officer at the National Guard Medical Center.
His future plans include developing the rehabilitation of wounded returning from the battlefield.
"I went to serve in order to win this war," says Vladyslav Vashchuk, "so that my children would not be involved in it.
We need more people who want to learn, who want to be useful. I'm not a doctor either, and I do a lot of things I shouldn't know. But I have learned. Because we all have to accept the fact that our country will never be the same as before. So, we have to change and adapt to the new realities."
Maryna Tkachuk